Irenic Defeat
by Taedae
Summary: When Seto loses another duel to Atem, he uses the opportunity to score a win on an entirely different battlefield.


_Another little ficlet, this time a gift for the lovely Crimson. As with the last one, I wrote this a few months ago because I wanted to help her smile during a rough day. And once again, it's not been expanded upon since I originally wrote it, just had a general editing pass over._

_Crimson, I hope this continues to help you smile! Sending you lots of love!_

* * *

Atem smiled as he played his final card, watching Seto's face as he realized it was over. There was a moment of silence, then the CEO sighed, dropping the remainder of his hand on the table.

"Why am I not surprised?"

Atem shrugged, trying and failing to keep from looking too smug. "If you knew you were going to lose, why did you challenge me in the first place?"

Seto looked up from the pile of abandoned cards in front of them, and to Atem's surprise, he was smirking. The Pharaoh blinked, studying the other man's gaze, unsure of what to make of it. There was something in his eyes that Atem couldn't quite place, yet it seemed strangely familiar. Almost as though he _should_ understand it.

"Interesting," Seto mumbled, smirking as he turned his attention back to his cards, carefully scooping them up and compiling them back into a single neat stack, leaving Atem staring cluelessly.

Frowning, the Pharaoh began collecting his own cards, but his hands paused halfway through, the other man's words—or lack thereof—eating at him. Glancing up, he watched as Seto smoothly shuffled his deck, waiting until the CEO had slipped his cards back into his briefcase.

"What's 'interesting'?"

Seto's smirk shifted slightly, suddenly looking less like a mere taunt and more like that of a sly fox. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back into his chair. "That you haven't figured it out yet."

Atem blinked. "Figured _what_ out?"

They sat in silence for a moment, bright blue eyes meeting royal purple, but the longer they remained quiet, the more unsettled the Pharaoh became. _What_ exactly was he missing here?

"These duels," Seto finally offered, still looking far too pleased with the situation for someone who had just lost a match, "they aren't about winning."

"They're ... not?"

"No." Leaning forward, Seto rested his arms against the edge of the table, and his expression instantly changed. Gone was the playful teasing, replaced instead with the steadfast focus of a predator hunting it's prey. Atem swallowed, and the corner of Seto's lips twitched. "They're not even about the duels."

Unable to tear his eyes away, the Pharaoh folded his arms tightly across his chest as if doing so would offer him some protection from the man sitting across from him, but Seto's intense gaze remained unrelenting. Atem let out a shallow breath.

"Really? Then ... why, exactly, are we here?"

Seto's smirk returned as he rose to his feet, but the combination of it along with his soul-piercing stare made the Pharaoh stiffen as the CEO slowly walked around the table. His movements were purposeful and calculated, and Atem felt rooted to his seat.

It wasn't until Seto had stopped next to the Pharaoh's chair that he finally answered the king's question. "It's about you." Bending forward, he grabbed the arms of the chair and turned it so Atem was facing him, cutting off all possibility of escaping, even if he'd wanted to. He hovered over the Pharaoh, their faces inches apart as he whispered, "And me."

Atem stopped breathing as realization struck. His brain went blank for a second, and when it kicked back into gear, his heart was suddenly racing so fiercely he feared it would pound right out of his chest. He drew in a sharp breath and said the only thing that came to mind.

"Oh."

Seto narrowed his eyes. "That's all you have to say? Just 'oh'?"

Coming to his senses, Atem swallowed and shook his head. "N-no. I just—"

"What?" Seto snapped.

His expression had darkened, and he looked as though he was about to abandon the entire situation. Panicking, Atem's hands shot out, and he grabbed onto Seto's sweater, ensuring that he couldn't walk away. The CEO's eyebrows rose, and he glanced down at the Pharaoh's hold on him before tilting his chin back up, a sly smile dancing across his lips.

"Tell me, _your majesty_. What else do you have to say to me?"

A jumble of thoughts and feelings flooded the king's mind, so much so that he couldn't possibly hope to untangle them all quickly enough. Tightening his grip, he merely blurted the first thing that decided to jump out of his mouth.

"Kiss me."

Seto blinked, then his expression softened slightly and he leaned even closer, his lips hovering a hair's width away from the Pharaoh's as he whispered, "Better," before doing precisely what Atem had asked of him.

* * *

_Thanks for much for reading! If you want ask me questions, chat about the newest stories/chapters, or even just want to have a place to connect with other people in the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, you are more than welcome to join me on Discord! For a server invite, PM me, leave a review, reach out to me on Discord (Taedae#7683), or on any of my socials (listed on my profile)._


End file.
